the local energy transition...6 introduction more and more cities are mobilizing to tackle climate...
TRANSCRIPT
Rosalie Lédée (reviewed by David Donnerer and Adrian Hiel)
Energy Cities – April 2019
Investment needs for the local energy transition
1
Executive summary
Cities’ actions for the energy transition are essential to achieve the Paris Agreement’s
objectives by 2050. Responsible for 80% of energy use and CO² emissions, local governments
understand that they need to invest for a sustainable future on a liveable and healthy planet.
The European Commission has estimated that it would require EUR 175 to 290
billion per year more to turn the EU into a net-zero greenhouse gas economy in 2050. For
example, the EU would need to invest an estimated EUR 8.5 trillion for implementing
sustainable heating systems for the period 2012-2050. To decarbonise the building stock by
2050, a staggering EUR 4.25 trillion more than normal investments would be necessary.
At the local level, such estimations are more difficult to establish. This publication
is therefore relying on five examples of European cities, that are frontrunners in the local
energy transition and which have put a number on their investment needs by 2050 in order
to succeed in their transition. Through our case studies of the cities Ghent (Belgium),
Frederikshavn (Denmark), Bordeaux-Métropole (France), Sevilla (Spain) and Tallinn
(Estonia), all signatories of the Covenant of Mayors - Europe initiative, we have identified
the local investment needs for the energy transition in different geographical, socio-
economic and sectorial circumstances. Moreover, this selection of a wide range of cities of
different sizes, territorial characteristics and resources will enable national governments to
make the right funding and investment choices for the future, thereby allowing local
authorities to thrive and play their key role to the fullest in supporting the EU and its
Member States to achieve the Paris Agreement’s objectives.
The city of Ghent in Belgium is implementing inclusive energy policies to allow
everyone to have access to cleaner energy and innovative technologies. Its flagship project
“Neighbourhood Power” (Buurzame Strom) supports the installation of solar panels in a
low-income district. The participation of citizens is a key priority in their strategy, as they
are included in the city’s projects and have also the opportunity to express what kind of
energy transition they want during the so-called Climate Arena, a citizen forum put in place
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by Ghent. In order to deliver its energy transition to a carbon neutral city by 2050, the
investment needs are estimated at EUR 750 million for Ghent.
The city of Frederikshavn in Denmark has the ambitious objective to achieve 100%
of renewable energy by 2030. Frederikshavn would need EUR 1 billion to achieve this target.
The main challenge for Frederikshavn is to encourage all citizens and private actors to join
in the transition. The city has opted to lead by example through ambitious building retrofit
and sustainable mobility actions. Furthermore, this Danish city seeks to attract funds from
sustainable companies and renewable energy producers, by providing a favourable
investment environment, while at the same time proposing policies to incentivize more
citizens to invest in the transition as well.
In France, the city of Bordeaux-Métropole is paving the way for the energy transition
by seeking to become an energy-plus metropole by 2050 through, in particular, the
collaboration between its urban and rural areas. In the period 2017-2022, investments are
planned worth EUR 535 million, which if maintained, would result in investment needs of
EUR 2.7 billion by 2050. The city focuses on acting as coordinator and facilitator by
supporting successful projects, such as the project of its flagship industrial cluster, the
ecoparc of Blanquefort. There, Bordeaux-Métropole mobilises sustainable companies to
follow the principle of industrial ecology, and share resources and expenses.
In Southern Europe, the Spanish city of Sevilla is also leading an ambitious energy
transition to become a role model for sustainable mobility. The city has planned to invest
EUR 264 million for the period 2012-2020, and up to EUR 1 billion by 2050. Sevilla is focusing
in particular on sustainable mobility in its energy transition, by establishing notably a large
cycling network and pedestrian zones to reduce air pollution and incentivize citizens to
move away from using their cars to commute.
Finally, the example of the Estonian capital of Tallinn highlights how the heating
and cooling sector also plays a critical role in the long-term investments for the energy
transition. Tallinn is currently mobilizing some EUR 300 million in energy and climate
actions, and is aspiring to become one of the first low-carbon cities in Eastern Europe with
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its ambitions on smart buildings and smart mobility. The city has estimated its investment
needs at EUR 900 million by 2050.
The European Commission has recently published its assessment of progress on
structural reforms in 2019 and its in-depth macroeconomic review for the EU Member States
(country reports), and linked it for the first time with investment recommendations for the
next European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) program (2021-2027). The 5 new
priority objectives of ESIF are: Smarter Europe, Greener Europe, Connected Europe, Social
Europe and Europe closer to its citizens. In its recommendations, the European Commission
has identified similar areas as the ones defined by the cities analysed in this study, on which
Member States need to focus their investments. All actors must accelerate the energy
transition through innovative approaches on energy efficiency and renewable technologies.
The European Commission has also acknowledged in its recent assessment the necessity to
involve all stakeholders, especially municipalities, to lead a fair energy transition. However,
it has not estimated in its recommendations what amounts Member States would need to
meet their objectives, and what investments they should provide to local authorities under
the next ESIF program. The city examples of this publication have shown that local
investment needs by 2050 oscillate between EUR 1 and 3 billion, illustrating the significant
investments at local level that need to be leveraged for the energy transition. It becomes
evident hence that EU and national funds need to be rechannelled in the next ESIF to meet
these concrete and tangible local investment needs for the transition, not only in these cities,
but across all European cities taking action to fulfil the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
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Table of contents
Executive summary ................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 6
Ghent: From a Smart City to the City of People ..................................................................... 11
What are the ambitions of ghent for its energy transtion? ................................................ 12
How does Ghent cover all sectors with its investment plan? ............................................. 13
The Neighbourhood Power (Buurzame Stroom) project................................................... 14
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 17
Frederikshavn: Achieving 100% renewable energy supply by 2030 ...................................... 18
How can Frederikshavn achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030? ................................... 19
What are the concrete actions needed to achieve the goals? ............................................ 20
How to initiate the energy transition? ................................................................................ 22
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 24
Bordeaux: Becoming an energy-plus metropole .................................................................... 25
Is Bordeaux-Métropole an example for the energy transition in France? ......................... 26
How does Bordeaux-Metropole intend to implement its goal? ........................................ 27
How does the Project ZIRI in The Ecoparc of Blanquefort embody Bordeaux-Metropole’s
strategy? ............................................................................................................................... 29
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 31
Sevilla: Becoming a role model for sustainable mobility ...................................................... 32
How Does Sevilla plan to Tackle climate change? ............................................................. 33
How much Has Sevilla planned to invest in energy and climate action? ......................... 34
How did Sevilla becOme the cycling capital of Southern Europe? ................................... 35
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 38
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Tallinn: On its way to becoming one of the first low-carbon cities in Eastern Europe ....... 39
Is Tallinn comMitted to the energy transition? ................................................................. 40
What are the priorities for Tallinn? .................................................................................... 41
Tallinn: at the forefront to renovate heating and cooling systems ................................... 44
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 45
Main findings .......................................................................................................................... 47
Sources.....................................................................................................................................49
Cities’ Climate plans ............................................................................................................49
Reports .................................................................................................................................49
News articles ........................................................................................................................ 50
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Introduction
More and more cities are mobilizing to tackle climate change and catalyse the clean
energy transition, in line with the Paris Agreement. But having only limited resources at
their disposal, local authorities won’t be able to leverage the necessary investments for the
transformations to come on their own. European cities need the broad support from their
national governments and the EU; so they can unlock their full potential in driving
investments for the energy transition. But how much investment will be needed?
Several studies have pointed out investment needs at different scales so far.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA), the countries from the G20 should invest an additional EUR 25
trillion in order to achieve an ambitious energy transition. At the EU level, the European
Commission has estimated that average investments in the range of EUR 175 to 290 billion
per year are required to enable the EU to become a net-zero greenhouse gas economy in
2050. These investment volumes represent 2.8% of the European gross domestic product
(GDP). In comparison, the European Commission unlocked EUR 4,588.9 billion of aid to
save the financial institutions between 2008 and 2010 (the amount of public support actually
used in 2009 stood at EUR 1,106.6 billion and EUR 957 billion in 2008), which represents
around a quarter of the GDP of 2017.
The cost of inaction would be even more significant. The NGO Climate Action
Network Europe (CAN) has estimated that in 2017, extreme weather conditions already
cost Europe EUR 14 billion. And these estimates predict that this cost would rise
significantly over the years to come. For example, inaction would lead to skyrocketing
health costs due to pollution. According to the long-term decarbonisation strategy 2050
proposed by the EU Commission, a carbon neutral society will reduce premature deaths
caused by air pollution by more than 40% and health damage by around EUR 200 billion
per year. Not acting is therefore not an option, and deep transformations are now necessary
to ensure the achievement of the energy transition.
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Some countries have slowly woken up to these risks and are taking actions, driven
also by the youth climate protests that have swept across the European continent in the past
weeks. For instance, Spain seeks to mobilize more than EUR 200 billion of
investments to move towards climate neutrality by 2050. While France has increased by
EUR 10.4 billion the budget for the ecological transition for 2018, a recent report by the
French Parliament has underlined that actually France would need more than 3 times this
amount each year to stay on track in its energy transition1. The energy transition will entail
a great number of transformations: boosting renewables while moving away from fossil fuels,
improving energy efficiency and sufficiency, decarbonising transport, heating and cooling
and the building sectors. The investment needs at the EU level for each of these sectors are
significant: some EUR 8.5 trillion are needed for achieving a sustainable heating system for
the period 2012-2050, and decarbonizing the EU buildings stock would require an additional
EUR 4.25 trillion by 2050.
While the issue of achieving the Paris-proof energy transition is global, the answer
needs to be first and foremost local. Local governments have a key role to initiate and lead
the energy transition. The Covenant of Mayors – Europe initiative has shown that European
local authorities are keen to take ambitious energy and climate action to support national
governments and the EU in meeting its national, European and international commitments.
The European Commission is aware of these challenges, as illustrated by its recent 2019
European Semester, where it assesses progress on structural reforms, prevention and
correction of macroeconomic imbalances, and results of in-depth reviews in the EU Member
States. For the first time, this regular exercise of the EU Commission was linked with
investment recommendations for the next European Structural and Investment Funds
(ESIF) program (2021-2027). Through the five new priority objectives (Smarter Europe,
Greener Europe, Connected Europe, Social Europe and Europe closer to its citizens), the
European Commission seeks to accelerate an energy transition that tries to better
reflect the needs of cities. Member States have to tackle key issues of energy efficiency in
the residential sector, providing sustainable mobility and renewable energies or supporting
more initiatives for a circular economy under the next ESIF program. However, the
1 Information report by the finance commission presented at the French l’Assemblée Nationale on 30/01/2019
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European Commission did not estimate how much Member States should invest under the
next ESIF to meet the 5 priority objectives, nor what part of these investments should be
channeled to cities.
Yet, many cities have already underpinned their ambitions and concrete and
tangible investment needs in tackling climate change and catalysing the clean energy
transition with clear long-term strategies and investment plans. In this publication, we will
present examples from 5 pioneering European cities, all Covenant signatories, and their
investment needs for the energy transition by 2050. Ghent in Belgium is on its way to
become a climate neutral and inclusive city by 2050; Frederikshavn in Denmark aims to
achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030, while Bordeaux-Métropole in France wants to
become an energy plus city by 2050; Sevilla in Spain is aspiring to act as a role model for
sustainable mobility, and finally Tallinn in Estonia seeks to become one of the first low-
carbon cities in Eastern Europe. The challenges they face are different, and so are their
budgets. But this exercise provides a critical avenue for examining the resources that would
need to be channelled for the local energy transition by the EU Commission and Member
States through the next ESIF program – not only to these cities, but to all cities across
Europe keen to fulfil the Paris Agreement objectives.
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City Ghent Frederikshavn Bordeaux Sevilla Tallinn
Population 260.467 in
2018 61,576 in 2011
787,107 in
2018
688,711 in
2018
430,805 in
2018
Area 156.18 km2 648.6 km2 579,27 km2 140.8 km² 159.2 km2
Carbon
footprint
1,443 kton of
CO2 in 2011
Total CO2-
emissions in the
municipality
(2010): approx.
554,660 tons
per year (8.8 ton
per citizen
Trajectory
estimated on
the basis of
its
objectives: a
carbon
budget of
approx.134
MtgCO2
towards 2050
Carbon
footprint
2007:
3,523,185
CO2 ton
per year
3,523,185
CO2 ton per
year (2007)
Covenant of
Mayors
signatory
Since 2009 Since 2011 Since 2009 Since 2009 Since 2009
Short term
climate
commitments
-20% CO2
emissions
and -20%
energy
consumption
by 2020 +15%
local
renewable
energy
production
by 2020
Promote
sustainable
business
development in
the municipality
-20% CO2
emissions
and -20%
energy
consumption
by 2020 +
20%
renewable
energy by
2020
- 40%
carbon
emissions
by 2020
-20% CO2
emissions
and -20%
energy
consumption
by 2020
+20% local
renewable
energy
production
by 2020
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Long term
climate
commitments
Become a
climate
neutral city
by 2050
100% of
renewable
energy by 2030
Becoming an
energy-plus
metropole
by 2050
Becoming
a role
model for
sustainable
mobility
Becoming
one of the
first low-
carbon cities
in Eastern
Europe
City’s budget
EUR 811
million in
2018
DKK 3.9
billion (=EUR
522 million) in
2017
EUR 1.2
billion in
2016
EUR 852
million in
2019
EUR 761
million in
2019
Action plan
Ghent
Climate
Action plan
2014-2019
Master Plan for
Renewable
Energy 2030
Plan d’action
pour un
territoire
durable à
haute qualité
de vie
2017-2022
Plan de
Acción por
el Clima y
la Energía
Sostenibles
2012-2020
Tallinn
Sustainable
Energy
Action Plan
2011–2021
Current
climate
budget
EUR 150
million
DKK 7.5 - EUR 1
billion
EUR 535
million
EUR 264
million
EUR 300
million
Long term
investment
needs
EUR 750
million EUR 1 billion
EUR 2.7
billion
EUR 1
billion
EUR 900
million
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Ghent: From a Smart City to the City of People
-20% CO2 emissions and -20% energy consumption by 2020
+15% local renewable energy production by 2020
Budget 2014-2019: EUR 150 million
Become a climate neutral city by 2050
Investments needs 2020-2050: EUR 750 million
City of Ghent
260,467 inhabitants in 2018
City budget 2018: EUR 811 million
Joined the Covenant of
Mayors in 2009
156.18 km2
Main sucesses: very advanced on
renewable energy (the largest number
of solar panels in Flanders) and on
projects of commons
Carbon footprint:
1,443 ktonne of CO² in 2011
Main challenge: expand the pilot
projects to a larger scale
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WHAT ARE THE AMBITIONS OF GHENT FOR ITS ENERGY TRANSTION?
Ghent is a municipality in Belgium, and is the capital and largest city of the East
Flanders province with 260.467 inhabitants in 2018. It is a pioneer in taking both action on
climate mitigation and adaptation, as exemplified through their climate adaptation plan
2016-2019 and their global climate plan 2014-2019. The Ghent Multi-Annual plan 2014-2019
states: “Ghent is a city of openness, solidarity, wisdom, and child-friendliness. It pools all its
powers to develop the city into a continuously liveable whole, further shaping the future.
Ghent wishes to be a creative forerunner in the transition towards a climate neutral city. We
continue to build an environmentally friendly and diversified economy to bring prosperity to
all. This is how we develop into a society of responsible citizens who can thrive freely and count
on the necessary support.”2
Ghent was one of the first European cities to join the Covenant of Mayors - Europe
in 2009. The city is committed to reduce local CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020
compared to 2007, to lower their energy consumption by 20% compared to reference year
2007, to produce local renewable energy production for 15% of domestic energy demand by
2019 and to save 15% of energy consumption in city buildings and public lighting during the
period 2014-2019. Ghent wants to become a climate neutral city by 2050. To do so, the city
mainly seeks to develop the local production of renewable energy, in particular wind and
solar. Furthermore, the city of Ghent seeks to make sure that their energy transition is social
as well, with affordability being a key priority in their actions. This key priority is reflected
in their label; the municipality has changed its name from “Smart city” to “City of People”3.
Its ambitions concur on many aspects with the European Commission’s recent investment
recommendations for Belgium, as Belgium has to focus more on supporting small scale
renewable electricity production or on enabling disadvantaged households to get easier
access to renovation services.
City of Ghent, 2014.
2 Quote from Ghent climate plan 2014-2019, p5. 3 More details in this article on their website.
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HOW DOES GHENT COVER ALL SECTORS WITH ITS INVESTMENT PLAN?
What is Ghent’s current climate budget?
Ghent has devised a major investment plan for the period 2014-2019 to underpin its
efforts:
This budget is for the period 2014-2019: if it is maintained to become a climate
neutral city by 2050, it would represent investment needs of EUR 750 million toward
2050. The municipality is currently in political transition after the recent local elections in
Belgium, and will soon discuss an updated plan with a better indication of their future
investment needs. For their previous budget, the city made a distinction between 100%
climate actions (from different sectors), about EUR 105 million, and partial climate actions,
representing around EUR 45 million, that is to say policies with a positive impact on the
energy transition without it being the main goal. For instance, the municipality is providing
housing premiums for vulnerable people to improve their housing standard, also by making
them more energy efficient. The city can only cover a small part of investment from its own
budget, but will need co-financing for most projects, through e.g. European funding
programs such as LIFE or Horizon 2020. Ghent also uses alternative financing instruments
such as crowdfunding and a citizen’s budget to channel investments for its transition. EUR
1.35 million was allocated in 2016 in this way for projects which were led by the population.
Total EUR 150 million
Mobility: EUR 62 million
Renewable Energy: EUR 1.7 million
Residential sector:
EUR 30.8 million Companies,
tertiary sector & agriculture: EUR 7 million
Role Model: EUR 46.5 million
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What is the role of the municipality to implement the climate action plan?
The municipality of Ghent is the leader and initiator for some projects, but steps
down for others and plays the role of facilitator. For instance, for its actions towards SMEs,
Ghent mainly plans to encourage the uptake of a greener economy by coaching industries
to reduce their CO² emissions. For the actions classified as “role model”, the city is
promoting energy efficiency by leading by example. This includes the renovation of the
city’s fleet or purchasing 100% green energy for city buildings and public lighting. But as the
energy transition is still an ongoing process, Ghent is experimenting with several options
which could be expanded afterwards. This is the case for the project Neighbourhood Power
(Buurzame Stroom).
Daniël Termont, former Mayor of Ghent.
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD POWER (BUURZAME STROOM) PROJECT
How to reconcile affordability and innovative sustainable technology?
The Neighbourhood Power project was launched in 2014 during a Climate Arena, a
citizen forum where the municipality asked the citizens what project they would like to
initiate for the energy transition. Citizens suggested to set up solar panels on the Ghent
neighbourhood of St. Amandsberg, which should be affordable for all. The city
administration of Ghent sought to involve citizens for the construction of the future of their
city, and thus supported several projects led by citizens, civil society organisations and local
energy cooperatives. Many projects were launched during the Climate Arena, where the city
played a role of facilitator, and provided technical support. The Neighbourhood Power
project is part of a larger program from the city called “sustainable neighbourhoods”, which
is aiming to experiment with new ways of building the city with citizens’ initiatives. In this
regard, Ghent offers a subsidy of EUR 12.000 as a starting point to citizens to support them
in their initiatives.
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Neighbourhood Power was set up to produce local renewable energy for an entire
neighbourhood, focusing in particular on involving vulnerable people in the project. It has
an ecological and a social perspective, with the ambition to reduce energy poverty. It
encourages inhabitants to invest in solar panels, or in solar panels for schools or companies,
if one’s own roof is not suitable for this technology. Another perspective of the project is to
align consumption and production of energy, by realising energy savings, but also by using
more energy when the solar panels are at their highest capacity. The project is associated
with tools developed in the European Horizon 2020 WiseGRID-project4. WiseGRID aims at
providing tools and business models to create an open market and enable energy
stakeholders to participate fully in the democratic energy transition by financing batteries,
heat pumps or charging station for instance. The project is tested in four countries: Belgium,
Spain, Greece and Italy.
Does the city work alone?
Ghent built up a consortium to manage the project involving a large number of
partners: the city of Ghent, the local renewable energy cooperative EnerGent, the social
neighbourhood-based organisation Samenlevingsopbouw, the University of Ghent and the
distribution grid operator EANDIS. Energent is executing the project, while
Samenlevingsopbouw works with the inhabitants participating voluntarily and the
University of Ghent monitors the project’s progress. The city of Ghent is at the same time a
partner and a facilitator for the project. Neighbourhood Power became operational on the
4 More information about this project on their website.
Figure 2 Solar panel installation in Ghent. Photo courtesy of Johan Eyckens. From Resilience website.
Figure 1 The aim is to produce and consume collectively solar energy. From the City of Ghent Website
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11th of March 2018, and its first results are expected for the end of 2019. More than 200
inhabitants are participating in this experimental project. Sofia Verhoeven from the climate
service of Ghent, explains that the municipality would like to expand the project to a larger
scale if the results are good. The neighbourhood of St. Amandsberg is a difficult first location
for the project, due to its vulnerability and its cloudy weather, but it allows organisers to
find out about any shortcomings of the tools and then improve them for their next
application.
The total investment for the project was significant: about EUR 2 million was
allocated to finance the different components of Neighbourhood Power. The City of Ghent
allocated 13% of the total investments, as can be seen below5:
The municipality is mainly the local initiator, by funding the renewable cooperative
Energent, the social neighbourhood-based organisation Samenlevingsopbouw and the
University of Ghent. The EU is involved in many aspects, but mostly through its cVPP
funding program. CVPP stands for “Community-based Virtual Power Plant”, which finances
decarbonisation projects based on the empowerment of low-carbon community driven
5 The budget was detailed by Sofie Verhoeven, working in the service of environment and climate at the city of Ghent.
€ 140 000
€ 72 225
€ 55 249
€ 64 500
€ 360 950
€ 1 147 793
€ 20 000
€ 32 537€ 96 000
Investments in euros for Neighbourhood Power
Energent Samenlevingsopbouw
University of Ghent H2020
LIFE BE REEL Interreg cVPP
Province East-Flanders ICON
Call cabinet Tommelein
13%
79%
1% 2% 5%
Partners
City of Ghent
EU (through seveal funds)
Region
ICON call
Call cabinet Tommelein
17
energy initiatives6. It has to involve individual consumers, local energy companies or SMEs,
as figures 3 shows:
CONCLUSION
The city of Ghent leads pilot projects to increase the share of renewable energy,
while at the same time involving its vulnerable citizens. In the period 2014-2019, Ghent’s
climate actions will cost EUR 150 million. Ghent’s actions have illustrated the possibilities
for a city to spearhead the energy transition. The period 2020-2050 needs to be as or even
more ambitious, in order to enable Ghent to achieve its long-term objective of becoming
climate-neutral by 2050. It will require significant investment needs of at least EUR 750
million, and also will have to take into account the following considerations:
The energy transition must involve vulnerable people in order to be perceived as fair
and just.
A long term goal is necessary, alongside with a clear budget per sector.
Collaboration is key: between investors, companies, citizens and public authorities.
A key challenge is to scale up pilot projects to the entire city.
Investment needs: EUR 750 million.
6 All the information about the program here.
Figure 3 How cVPP works? From the program website
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Frederikshavn: Achieving 100% renewable energy supply by 2030
Promote sustainable business development in the municipality
100% renewable energy by 2030
Investments needs 2014-2030: EUR 1 billion
Frederikshavn Municipality
61,576 inhabitants in 2011
City budget 2017: DKK 3.9 billion
(=EUR 522 million)
Joined the Covenant of
Mayors in 2011
648.6 km2
Main sucesses: on track to achieve its renewable energy
target
Carbon footprint: total CO2-
emissions in the municipality
(2010): approx. 554,660 ton per
year (8.8 ton per citizen)
Main challenge: convince the entire private
sector to join in the energy transition
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HOW CAN FREDERIKSHAVN ACHIEVE 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY BY 2030?
The city at the forefront of Danish climate policy
Located in the north of Denmark, the municipality of Frederikshavn is known for its
ambitious commitment to the energy transition. Initially, the city of Frederikshavn aspired
to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2015, but due to the merger in 2013 of the three
previous communities Skagen, Sæby and Frederikshavn, the city adapted its strategy with
2030 as the new target year. At the same time, this allows for the target to be more viable,
by increasing the possibilities of renewable energy supply. Frederikshavn joined the
Covenant of Mayors in 2011, with the aim to reduce 97% of its CO2 emissions by 2030
compared to 2010.
Frederikshavn may not be as famous as Copenhagen, but it is still at the forefront to
support Denmark’s ambition to become energy self-sufficient by 2050. Frederikshavn is a
pioneer city for the energy transition. It started with the creation of “Energy City
Frederikshavn”, which was established in order to lead by example in the implementation
of the Danish environmental policies, especially the 2012 energy agreement and its three
main goals: “Denmark will be a green and sustainable society, will be among the three
countries in the world which lifts its sustainable energy share the most towards 2030 and in
2030, Denmark will be among the three most energy efficient countries in the OECD”. For
Frederikshavn, the main obstacle to the energy transition stems from the politicians’ will:
“the big challenge is not the technology itself. It is the political process”.
Birgit Stenbak
Hansen, Mayor of Frederikshavn
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So far, Frederikshavn’s annual evaluation indicates positive results and underlines
that the city can reach its ambitious goal by 2030, as figure 4 shows.
WHAT ARE THE CONCRETE ACTIONS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS?
What are the challenges of long-term planning?
After a deep analysis of its carbon emissions and the evaluation of the needed
reforms, the city of Frederikshavn presented 32 actions to reach 100% of renewable energy.
Overall, the city planned a budget of DKK 7.5 billion, that is to say EUR 1 billion for
the period. But, as alternative renewable energy technologies are in constant evolution, the
annual investment plan is evolving as well. New technologies can affect both the
environmental impact and the required investment needs. Moreover, Frederikshavn’s
situation is different from other cities due to the 2030 target. The investments needs are
equivalent between different municipalities for the energy transition, with about EUR 1
billion being necessary by 2050, but Frederikshavn’s ambition requires to gather this sum
by 2030. It entails acting fast already with innovative and available technologies, especially
for renewables. The cost by sector reveals where Frederikshavn decided to invest the most
– in particular renewable energy to comply with the 2030 objective - and where the city
would need to invest in the future (mostly sustainable transportation).
Figure 4 Illustration of the reduction of CO² of Frederikshavn by year from their auto evaluation of 2017
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Frederikshavn’s investment needs hence don’t correlate fully with the latest
European Commission’s investment recommendations to Denmark, which mainly insist on
innovation.
Is Frederikshavn on its own in delivering its projects?
Many stakeholders are involved to implement the strategy and to participate in the
funding. The municipality finances in particular its public projects, specifically the energy
optimization of the building stock. General housing organizations are taking care of the
energy renovation of the general housing, where the municipality provides guarantees for
loans. The largest general housing association is affiliated with the European Local Energy
Assistance (ELENA) scheme7. ELENA is a European fund by the European Investment Bank
(EIB) and the Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme. ELENA provides technical
assistance for the implementation of energy efficiency, the distribution of renewable energy
and urban transport programmes. In general, projects supported by ELENA have a budget
above EUR 30 million, with a 3-year implementation period for energy efficiency, and a 4-
year period for urban transport and mobility. The largest housing association in
7 More information about ELENA here.
Total: DKK 7.5 billion
EUR 1 billion
Renewable energy production and
transmission (electricity and heat): DKK 5,602
billion
≈ EUR 750 million
Energy optimization of building stock (municipal
and private buildings): DKK 1,865 billion
≈ EUR 240 million
Optimization and expansion of collective
energy management networks and utilization of surplus heat: DKK 0.71
billion
≈ EUR 93 million
Establishment of sustainable infrastructure for renewable transport
and promotion of cycling: estimation 0.005 Billion
DKK.
≈ EUR 670 000
22
Frederikshavn is planning to boost investments in energy renovation, with the expected
help of ELENA fund corresponding to DKK 450 million (about EUR 60 million). The rest of
the foreseen renewable energy projects are financed directly by the private organisations
and private energy companies. Hence, this becomes an asset for the city, in order to attract
green industries.
HOW TO INITIATE THE ENERGY TRANSITION?
How did Frederikshavn become a role model?
As a pioneer of the energy transition, the city of Frederikshavn has proven itself as
a role model for the renovation of public buildings. Since 2014, the city has reduced the
energy consumption of municipal buildings by 3% annually. The municipality as a company
has a fixed amount of DKK 45 million (≈EUR 60 000) for the energy renovation of its
buildings. The total amount of the investments in 2017 in the energy supply for housing in
the municipality is about DKK 651 million, i.e. EUR 87 million. The focus lies now on
promoting more energy renovations in the private sector.
Figure 6 The city has replaced some of its fleet with biogas cars, such as this one, photo by Tom Jensen on Energy City Frederikshavn website
Figure 5 picture of a public building of Frederikshavn equipped with solar panels, photo on the Energy City Frederikshavn website
23
To do so, the city has established a partnership with local banks to encourage low-
interest loans for the renovation of private housing8. Those loans are between EUR 1,350 and
EUR 40,300 to assist private owners in their own energy transition. This initiative was made
possible thanks to the project Infinite Solutions9 , co-financed by the Intelligent Energy
Europe programme of the EU and which aimed at finding concrete solutions (such as soft
loans) to finance the energy transition in cities10.
What technologies does Frederikshavn rely on in its transition?
The city of Frederikshavn also participates in the development of innovative smart
grids to support its strategy to become 100% renewable by 203011. A smart grid is an electrical
grid which allows the measurement of a diversity of factors, such as smart meters, smart
appliances, renewable energy resources and energy efficient resources. The aim is to control
and share more information about the production and the consumption of energy. Hence,
it is a useful tool for the energy transition, which requires the cooperation of industries,
universities and public authorities. Frederikshavn’s Master Plan 2030 also mentions the
initiation of a broader smart grid. The cost is estimated at DKK 10 billion, EUR 1.3 billion,
and is not included in the final investment needs due to the fact that it would be a sharing
investment (between local companies, Aalborg University and the Institute for Energy
Technology). It would be in the form of a EUDP: Energy Technological Development and
Demonstration Program 12 , a public subsidy scheme supporting new technology in the
energy field. Leading this project would be a step further for the municipality in the
sustainable transformation of its buildings.
8 Details of their actions on an article by Energy Cities from January 2016 9 More information about Infinite Solutions here. 10 Two guide books by Energy Cities are available for more explanations: here and here. 11 Map of European smart grid projects gathered by the Commission here. 12 More information available here.
24
CONCLUSION
The specificity of Frederikshavn is to aim for long-term goals (e.g. by 2050) already
by 2030, therefore their vision is actually much more short-term. Its strategy is to go deeper
in the objective of achieving 100% fossil-free energy supply by 2050, which is particularly
tricky in the transport sector. The evaluation report 2017 also calls for more direct
participation from citizens, as up to now the municipality has struggled to mobilize them.
Their reports are essential to know how to conduct and better finance the transition, as
moreover the European Commission has not provided detailed investment
recommendations for Denmark in its latest progress report.
Frederikshavn has proven to be at the forefront of the energy transition, and is
taking its energy and climate responsibilities seriously. Its investments have fostered growth
and employment, and have attracted green industries to its territory. Frederikshavn needs
EUR 1 billion by 2030 to become 100% renewable.
Bahram
Dehghan, Senior Project Manager at Energy City Frederikshavn.
Frederikshavn shows that it is possible to do an ambitious energy transition by 2030.
Municipalities can lead by example and thereby mobilize companies and citizens to
join in the transition.
The energy transition has multiple co-benefits, such as boosting local economic
development and growth.
Ambitious policies require significant investment needs even in the short-term, as
Frederikshavn needs EUR 1 billion by 2030 to meet its renewable energy ambition.
25
Bordeaux: Becoming an energy-plus metropole
-20% CO2 emissions and -20% energy consumption by 2020
+ 20% renewable energy by 2020
Investment needs 2017-2022: EUR 535 million
Becoming an energy-plus metropole by 2050
Investment needs 2022-2050: EUR 2.7 billion
Bordeaux-Métropole
787,107 inhabitants in 2018
City budget 2016: EUR 1.2 billion
Joined the Covenant of
Mayors in 2009
579,27 km2
Main successes: since 2015,
greenhous gas emissions have been reduced by 4% per
inhabitant and successful public-
private cooperation
Carbon footprint: The trajectory estimated on
the basis of its objectives represents a
carbon budget of approximately
134 MtgCO2 towards 2050
Main challenges: the city
continues to grow and
become more and more congested
26
IS BORDEAUX-MÉTROPOLE AN EXAMPLE FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION IN FRANCE?
What climate strategy has Bordeaux-Métropole adopted?
The municipality of Bordeaux became a metropole in 2015 and now gathers 28 towns
from both sides of the river Garonne. Overall, it counts 787,107 inhabitants, of which a third
are living in the main city Bordeaux. Bordeaux joined the Covenant of Mayors - Europe in
2009, and has since then remained at the forefront in promoting the energy transition. For
instance, Bordeaux-Métropole has been a co-organiser of the European Energy Transition
Conference since 2015. It was also in 2015 that the metropole initiated the process of
elaborating an ambitious climate plan. Its “Plan d’action pour un territoire durable à haute
qualité de vie”, focuses on a clear goal: becoming an energy-plus metropole by 2050, which
means that Bordeaux-Métropole aims at producing more energy than it consumes. The
agglomeration has many assets to produce more renewable energy, mainly thanks to the
solar energy potential on its territory. At the same time, Bordeaux has set up a large energy
efficiency plan to reduce private and public consumption. This also entails cooperation
between the different territories that make up Bordeaux-Métropole. Bordeaux, as the
economic centre, consumes more than the smaller towns, which in return could produce
renewable energy, such as sustainable biomass through agriculture. However, this should
not be at the expense of the consumption of these neighbours. Therefore, there are ongoing
discussions about the collaboration that is needed between Bordeaux-Métropole and its
neighbouring territories, as can be seen on figure 7 for the estimations of flows between
Bordeaux and its neighbours. In its climate plan, the Bordeaux-Métropole puts forward its
role of coordinator and initiator of projects between all the relevant stakeholders.
Figure 7 Bordeaux and its neighborhood territories. From a seminar "Séminaire
interterritorialité et transition énergétique 2018"
27
HOW DOES BORDEAUX-METROPOLE INTEND TO IMPLEMENT ITS GOAL?
What is their energy-plus metropole strategy?
Becoming an energy-plus metropole by 2050 requires several action plans in order
to achieve this ambitious objective. Its strategy follows the European Commission’s
recommendations with the focus on energy efficiency, renewables and connection with
rural areas. Bordeaux’s 2017-2022 action plan is divided in 3 parts: speeding up the energy
transition, preserving and enhancing half of its natural spaces and assisting all relevant
actors to be engaged in favour of the ecological and energy transition. Here, the analysis is
only on the first part, which in itself is divided in four goals: strengthen the authority of the
energy organisation, master the energy consumption of buildings, increase to 32% in 2030
the share of renewable energy and promote sustainable transportation. It gathers at the
same time mitigation and adaptation actions. Instead of just focusing on the cost, the plan
also puts forward some of the benefits of the transition. For instance, producing 3% of local
renewable energy would generate a gain worth EUR 32 million. Building on the same idea,
reducing energy consumption by 40% by 2050 would save the territory EUR 600 million per
year. The metropolitan administration is currently leading a public consultation to ask how
Bordeaux should look in 205013. So far, 12,500 answers have been gathered, which will all
feed into a new plan to be presented in spring 2019.
Alain Juppé in 2016, former President of
Bordeaux-Métropole.
How does Bordeaux-Métropole plan its energy and climate budget?
For the period 2017-2022, Bordeaux-Métropole has already foreseen significant
investment needs:
13 More information about the public concertation here.
28
The budget for sustainable transportation is rather important, due to major
construction works that are needed. This includes the extension of the tramway and the bus
service, with an objective of achieving 415,000 trips per day in 2020, compared to 250,000
trips per day in 2009. This entails significant investments, shared between Bordeaux-
Metropole and its towns. For the first operational period, Bordeaux-Metropole decided to
focus on sustainable transportation for its energy transition. Bordeaux’s priority slightly
differs from the European Commission’s investment recommendations for France, which
are more focused on renewables and energy efficiency rather than mobility. So, if the same
budget is kept, even though funds are allocated on another priority, this would entail an
investment need of EUR 2.7 billion for Bordeaux-Métropole for the period 2022-2050.
The role of Bordeaux-Métropole is central to lead a coherent transition within the
metropolitan area, rather than just to focus on city level. At the same time, the aim is to be
a role model for the citizens and the private partners, by leading by example on specific
actions, such as retrofitting public lighting, improving energy efficiency within the
municipal buildings and implementing a sustainable mobility program within the
administration (e.g. by buying an electric fleet or by choosing the train over plane whenever
it is possible).
Total 2017-2022 EUR 535 million
Global energy transition
EUR 758,000
Renovation of buildings EUR
4.7 million
Renewable Energy EUR 13
million
Sustainable transportation
EUR 516 million
29
HOW DOES THE PROJECT ZIRI IN THE ECOPARC OF BLANQUEFORT EMBODY
BORDEAUX-METROPOLE’S STRATEGY?
What is the project ZIRI?
The project ZIRI (zone d’intégration des réseaux intelligents – zone of integration of
smart networks) within the industrial cluster of the ecoparc of Blanquefort aims at
implementing smart technologies in the business park of 350 hectares intended for green
companies. Initiated in 2014 by Bordeaux Technowest, it gathers more than 200 companies
and supports about 5,200 jobs. Bordeaux Technowest is an association guiding innovative
green companies. Most companies in the park are committed to respecting the
environmental management system, sometimes labelled by the norm ISO 14001. The project
has created a positive dynamic for the sustainable economy and has enabled the
establishment of green companies within the territories of Bordeaux-Métropole. Pushing
for a circular economy through a cluster of green SMEs is in complete alignment with the
latest European Commission’s recommendations for France.
Jean-François Nothias, Director of the Blanquefort Ecopark.
Figure 8 picture of the ecopark by Fabien Cottereau, from an article Nicolas César on SudOuest
30
The park follows the principle of industrial ecology. The aim is to optimize the
energy and waste flows by connecting several companies. Concretely, it means buying
electricity together, reusing water for different purposes, reusing waste in different ways or
simply organising common transportation to the workplace. It also entails the use of
innovative energy saving technologies. In 2017, it was estimated that this approach enabled
the companies to save EUR 130,000.
How is it financed?
Bordeaux-Métropole is financing Bordeaux Technowest, alongside with the region
of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, other cities, and the EU. For the ecoparc ZIRI project, Bordeaux
Technowest has several partners: the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux-Métropole,
the city of Blanquefort and the ADEME Nouvelle-Aquitaine (French agency for the
environment and energy). Overall, it cost EUR 268,000, split between the partners14, as the
figure below illustrates.
Industrial ecology is a critical part of Bordeaux-Métropole’s strategy. For Yves Miaux,
director of economic development at Bordeaux-Métropole, “industrial ecology creates
employment. The metropole has an ambition of creating 100,000 jobs by 2030”15. This project
is a success meant to be reproduced, perhaps at a national level, but first within the
14 All these information comes from this report and from recita website. 15 Quote from an article of Nicolas César, in SudOuest published on 23/12/2017. Original quote: "L’écologie industrielle est créatrice d’emplois. Et, la métropole s’est fixée l’ambition de créer 100 000 emplois d’ici 2030" Yves Miaud.
Financial Partners
ADEME Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux Métropole City of Blanquefort EU
31
metropole at Artigues-près-Bordeaux and at OIM Bordeaux Aéroparc16 (a business park for
innovative aeronautic and defence companies). But for François Baffou, general director of
Bordeaux Technowest17, it will not be that easy to implement this principle elsewhere, as it
requires the commitment of local companies and financial support from local authorities.
CONCLUSION
Bordeaux-Métropole is engaged in the pathway to become an energy-plus metropole
by 2050. Their operational project for the period 2017-2022 is ambitious and is based on
cooperation between all the stakeholders. Overall, it appears that the needs of the city and
the EU Commission’s investment recommendations for France for the energy transition are
closely linked. The investment needs toward 2050 for Bordeaux-Métropole are
significant, estimated at EUR 2.7 billion if it is decided to keep the same investment
pattern. Nevertheless, it will allow Bordeaux-Métropole to continue to grow in a sustainable
manner, in accordance with the Paris Agreement’s goals.
The energy transition requires transversal policies across all sectors: economy,
mobility, governance, employment etc.
Collaboration between different cities, from urban centres to rural towns, is a
must for developing a sustainable and inclusive transition.
Long-term ambitions have to take into account the projected growth of a city.
Significant socio-economic benefits can be derived from the energy transition.
To become an energy-plus metropole, Bordeaux would need EUR 2.7 billion.
16 More information about this project here. 17 From an article of Nicolas César, in SudOuest published on 23/12/2017.
32
Seville: Becoming a role model for sustainable mobility
- 40% carbon emissions by 2020
Budget 2012-2020: EUR 264 million
Becoming a role model for sustainable mobility
Investment needs 2020-2050: EUR 1 billion
City of Seville
688,711 inhabitants in 2018
City budget for 2019: EUR 852
million
Joined the Covenant of
Mayors in 2009
140.8 km²
Main sucess: impressive increase of cycling in mobility
Carbon footprint
2012: 2,061,592 CO²
ton per year
Main challenges: establish a clearer path to 2050 and
broaden its climate policy to
all sectors
33
HOW DOES SEVILLA PLAN TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE?
Seville, the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia, is a major city in
Southern Europe. With 688,711 inhabitants, it is the fourth biggest city in Spain. Seville is a
tourist magnet and also attracts people and investments, thanks to its good economic
situation. Seville joined the Covenant of Mayors – Europe in 2009, but has been taking
energy and climate action plans since the 2000s. In 2016, the municipality adopted an action
plan for climate and renewable energy, with the ambition to reduce by 40% its carbon
emissions by 2020. The city of Seville is aware of the risks of non-action, and is already
suffering from the rise of temperature fuelled by climate change. As the Climate Data
Factory18 has calculated, the average annual temperature could rise to 32-33° by 2100 without
mitigation action, or be limited to 29-30° with an ambitious energy and climate policy.
Currently, the average annual temperature is 25-26°. Seville is therefore implementing
mitigation and adaption actions, such as increasing the green areas of the city to maintain
a cooler urban climate. Many citizens are putting pressure on the city to enact an even more
ambitious policy, and are also actively participating in the greening of their city. Volunteers
created the association “Red Sevilla por el clima”19 (meaning “Seville network for climate”),
which is leading its own projects, such as the creation of shared gardens or educating about
climate change in schools.
18 Data available on the climate data factory website. 19 Link to their website.
34
Red Sevilla Por el Clima
HOW MUCH HAS SEVILLA PLANNED TO INVEST IN ENERGY AND CLIMATE ACTION?
The city leads ambitious actions to reduce its carbon emissions by 40% by 2020. In
its latest action plan for climate and renewable energy of 2016, Seville has presented a
budget of about EUR 264 million for the period 2012-2020. It includes some projects co-
financed by the EU through the Cohesion funds. It follows the action plan for renewable
energy of 2009, which was revised in 2013 and which covered the period 2007-2020 and had
a budget of EUR 402 million. Many actions are common between the two plans and are
complementary to each other. However, the superposition of action plans creates confusion
about the vision for the future of the city. Seville’s strategy towards 2030 and 2050 is not
clear yet. Based on its latest plan, the investment needs can be estimated at EUR 1
billion for the period 2020-2050.
The latest plan focuses on four main priorities: the improvement of energy efficiency
in municipal buildings, the development of a sustainable mobility model (representing
almost half of the measures presented, illustrating how sustainable mobility is a key priority
for the city), the promotion of renewable energies and energy saving and raising awareness
Figure 9 Communication picture by Red Sevilla for el clima, from their website
Figure 10 the logo of Red Sevilla for el clima
35
and promoting responsible consumption. Seville’s priorities are also identified by the
European Commission as an investment priority for Spain in its latest recommendations.
But the EU executive has also emphasized in addition to this the challenges of smart
technologies and the renovation of heating and cooling systems in its investment
recommendations for Spain, which are not explicitly addressed by Seville in its plan.
HOW DID SEVILLA BECOME THE CYCLING CAPITAL OF SOUTHERN EUROPE?
Is building cycling paths enough to increase the number of cyclists?
Sustainable mobility is a key sector in Seville’s strategy towards sustainability. In
four years, from 2005 and 2009, the city has built a large bike network, that now totals an
impressive 120 kilometres. By 2018, the network was extended to 180 kilometres. It is not
traditional in Southern Europe to use bikes, and there were nearly 0% of bikers in 2006 in
Seville. Nowadays in 2018, 1 out of 10 citizens commutes by bike. Now, the aim is to improve
the current network even more and to also connect the suburbs to the network.
Following the pioneering Dutch cycling model with cycle paths separated from
motorised traffic, most of them being bidirectional and replacing former parking lanes,
Figure 11 Evolution of the network of cycle paths in Seville. Source: Municipality of Seville.
36
Seville has built a large and compact network. In order to include as many people as possible,
even those who do not have the space for parking a bike at home, or cannot buy one, the
city introduced a bike-sharing system in 2007. It encompasses 2,500 bicycles in 250 docking
stations. Over time, the number of women cycling has risen to 36% in 2017, which is a
positive result, as the more cyclists there are, the higher the percentage of women among
them. Biking also motivates elderly people, as cyclists over 64 years of age is growing as well.
The policy is linked to a wider goal of promoting sustainable and active mobility, with the
creation of several pedestrian zones, mainly in the historical centre (for instance, the Plaza
Nueva, Avenida de la Constitución, Puerta de Jerez, San Fernando street etc.). About EUR
37 million in investments are planned for these pedestrian zones in Seville.
José Garcia Cebrián, Seville’s
Head of urban planning.
What is the role of the citizens in Seville’s mobility policy?
This mobility policy was initiated by the city council, after a long mobilisation of
some citizens. The association “A Contramano: Asamblea de Ciclistas de Sevilla” (assembly
of cyclists of Seville) was founded in 1987, with the aim to lobby for a network of cycling
paths in the city. They organised several demonstrations to call for political action. The
Figure 122 Press clipping showing a bike demonstration in Seville in demand of cycle paths organised by "A Contramano"
(1993).Photograph: Miguel Mesa ("El Correo de Andalucía"). From an Euronews article
37
largest one took place in 1993 and gathered 10,000 people, as figure 12 illustrates. Some
members of the association actually have participated in the creation of Seville’s cycle
network.
Seville is leading by example in its successful mobility policy: by building the right
infrastructure for bikes, it has resulted in increasing the number of cyclists dramatically, as
figure 14 shows. In Seville, cycling has become a daily routine, and not only just a leisure-
activity. Seville’s ambitious cycling policy requires significant investments. We can see on
figure 13 that from 2006 to 2011, it cost about EUR 32 million to create the network. These
investments aimed at encouraging biking by making it simple, safe and comfortable for all.
The local authorities are continuing this policy with, for instance, the cycling plan of
Figure 13 Chronology and budget of the different phases of the development of the cycle network from 2006 to 2011. Source: (Muñoz, 2010), from this article.
Figure 14 Estimations for the total number of bicycle trips in a typical business day of November, and for the total number of bicycle trips per year. Source: Compiled by Marqués, R., Hernández-Herrador, V.,
Calvo, M. and García-Cebrián, J.A from data of (Ayuntamiento de Sevilla 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010) and (SIBUS, 2012)
38
Andalusia 2014-2020, which has a budget of EUR 69 million to build a regional network of
3,080 kilometres20.
CONCLUSION
Thus, Seville’s future climate policy entails significant investment needs to carry on
its efforts, in particular in terms of sustainable urban mobility. The current estimations
foresee investment needs of EUR 1 billion for the period 2020-2050. The city of Seville
is seeking to keep promoting and improving its sustainable mobility policy, and will now
seek to establish a clear vision towards 2050. Several plans have been made for the current
period, and the next one is likely to feature a single, coherent and transversal strategy. Even
if Seville’s cycling policy is impressive, cars still remain at the centre of the city.
Cycling can be boosted with a dense and favourable network.
Focusing funds on one sector can be effective, but the energy transition requires
actions in all sectors at the same time in order to be thorough enough.
Local and regional climate plans complement each other.
By 2050, investment needs are estimated at EUR 1 billion.
20 The Andalusia cycle plan 2014-2020 is available here.
39
Tallinn: On its way to becoming one of the first low-carbon cities
in Eastern Europe
City of Tallinn
430,805 inhabitants in 2018
City budget for 2019: EUR 761
million
Joined the Covenant of
Mayors in 2009
159.2 km2
Main sucesses: large improvement of the heating and
cooling systems and the renovation
of buildings
Carbon footprint
2007: 3,523,185 CO² tons per
year
Main challenges: find enough
investments to reach its 2050
ambitions
-20% CO² emissions and -20% energy consumption by 2020
+20% local renewable energy production by 2020
Budget 2011-2021: about EUR 300 million
Becoming the first low-carbon city of Eastern Europe
Investment needs 2020-2050: EUR 900 million
40
IS TALLINN COMMITTED TO THE ENERGY TRANSITION?
A city historically committed
Capital city of Estonia with 430,805 inhabitants, Tallinn is the economical lung of
the country. Known for the impressive digitalisation of its public services21, the country is
seeking to achieve its energy transition, especially with the support of new technologies.
Tallinn joined the Covenant of Mayors –Europe in 2009 and has since then presented several
action plans, such as its energy efficiency action plan for the period 2011-2021. Already
between 2011- and 2013, EUR 347.7 million in total was invested by the city for all activities
related to reducing CO2 emissions: reconstruction of buildings in municipal ownership,
construction of bikeways, purchase of public transport vehicles and reconstruction of tram
tracks, and for covering expenses related to land-use planning. These examples of actions
are set to fulfil Tallinn’s goals of reducing its energy consumption and its CO2 emissions by
20%, and to increase by 20% the share of renewable energy in its energy mix. All these goals
have risen to 40% by 2030.
What is Tallinn’s vision for 2050?
In the meantime, Tallinn is currently planning its roadmap for 2050, thanks to its
involvement in the EU Horizon 2020 project Roadmaps for Energy (R4E)22. R4E allowed ten
European cities to imagine and define their sustainable future towards 2050 during several
workshop sessions in 2018. Each city focused on two out of three areas: smart buildings,
smart mobility and smart urban spaces in the planning of its roadmap. Tallinn’s
representatives and experts involved in the project worked on the two first areas. While no
action plan has been released yet by Tallinn, the outcomes of the project reveal where the
city is seeking to go. For instance, Tallinn’s buildings will be adaptable and energy efficient,
while high speed transportation would link Tallinn and Helsinki to form an integrated
metropole23. These are very ambitious projects and will entail large investments. As it has
not been planned yet, it is possible that our investment needs estimations are far inferior to
21 For instance, see an article published in Marianne by Laurence Dequay: “Estonie, le nirvana digital de l'Europe" on 21/07/2018 22 More information about the R4E project here. 23 All the plan and the proceedings of the project are available here and here.
41
the actual ones. Tallinn’s 2050 strategy illustrates how cities are now aware that
sustainability is a lever for economic and social development, and facilitates cities becoming
fossil-fuel free as soon as possible.
WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES FOR TALLINN?
What is the content of its action plan?
The municipality of Tallinn is leading several actions for its transition, with several
budgets. Its most-detailed planning concerns energy efficiency and renewable energy
actions, for which Tallinn has estimated a budget of around EUR 300 million for the
period 2011-2021. Thus, if the city maintains the same budget, it would need EUR 900
million for the period 2020-2050. Tallinn covers ten main actions in its planning: the
organisation of energy efficient days, the energy audit and energy passport issuing for city-
owned buildings, the renovation and heat-insulation of city-owned buildings, further
improvement of outdoor lighting control systems, the use of energy-saving lamps in
outdoor lighting, the use of energy-saving lamps in the city's organisations, the change of
energy consumption habits in the city's organisations, the use of sustainable biofuel in the
Figure 15 Illustration of Tallinn's 2050 roadmap by R4E
42
urban transport sector, the use of fuel-efficient official cars and the construction of the tram
line in the Lasnamäe district. Tallinn’s priorities are similar to those that the EU
Commission is calling on Estonia to focus on in its investment recommendations, with the
difference that the Commission is also demanding stronger efforts by Estonia to support
circular economy initiatives.
It is also estimated that the expenses related to Tallinn’s Covenant of Mayors
Sustainable Energy Action Plan would reach EUR 135 million from 2015-2020, out of which
EUR 54 million would be financed by the Estonian state.
What has Tallinn accomplished so far?
Tallinn’s policy is ambitious in several aspects. For instance, public transportation
is free of charge for residents since 2013. Citizens only have to pay a 2-euro green card, and
finance transportation through their local taxes. And while EUR 475.3 million have been
spent for the period 2013-2020, the city claims it has turned a EUR 20 million profit each
year. The use of public transport has indeed increased after it became free (+14% in 2014),
however, the large part of this increase has stemmed from more pedestrians taking the bus.
It remains difficult to convince car users to make the transition to public transport. Free
transportation policy is easier in a medium-scale city, where transport congestion is not
such a critical issue.
Allan Alaküla, Head of Tallinn’s European Union Office.24
24 Quote from an article “Estonia is making public transport free” by Alex Gray published on the World Economic Forum website on the 01/06/2018
43
In the housing sector, Tallinn has carried out its project “Fix the Facades” since 2010
to support residential renovation, illustrated on figure 17. It encourages renovation loans by
granting 10% of the amount needed for the renovation. 123 apartment associations received
support from 2010–2014, which amounts to a support worth EUR 1.7 million from the city.
The project was renewed in 2015. Furthermore, as regards the public sector, EUR 37.5 million
from sales of CO2 quotas was invested in the reconstruction of municipal buildings in
Tallinn from 2011–2013, which allowed the saving of 3,370 MWh of energy per year. Tallinn’s
ambitious renovation program could be used as a reference for supporting similar initiatives
in cities under the next ESIF program 2021-2027.
Figure 16 Residents only need a EUR 2 green card to use public transportation in Tallinn. Picture by
STRINGER/EPA
Figure 17 Reconstructed facade financed by Tallinn
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TALLINN: AT THE FOREFRONT TO RENOVATE HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS
What are Tallinn’s actions for renovating its heating and cooling systems?
Estonia is leading an important policy to renovate the heating and cooling system
and make it more sustainable. For instance, in 2017 at the national level, 44% of the district
heating sales are biomass supply, against 33% of gas25 . At the local level, the share of
renewable and local sustainable biofuel in heat generation in 2014 was 42%; the plan is now
to increase it to 80% by 2017. The sector still needs improvement, specifically when it comes
to limiting energy losses. Tallinn has taken up the challenge and has proposed several
measures in that direction. The current renovation and heat-insulation of the buildings
enabled the city to save up to 30% in energy. Tallinn’s main goal is to reduce the share of
natural gas in its energy supplies, thereby also decreasing its energy dependence. As of now,
this policy has been a success: from 80% in 2007, the share of natural gas has decreased to
58% in 2015. Tallinn has also tried to increase the share of sustainable local fuels, such as
wood chip and peat. Most of the local small boiler houses have been closed, in order to
implement a renewable energy system. This is also linked with the grants for residents to
improve the energy consumption in their homes.
25 Data from a presentation by the Estonian government, available here.
Energy audits &
performance certificates
Construction of dwellings with higher thermal
resistance
Use of solar energy
Renovation of district heating
networks
Expansion of the use of heat pumps
Renovation and
insulation of dwellings
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The city supports the expansion of its district heating and cooling system. It is a
centralized heating and cooling production system, which is then distributed between
buildings, as illustrated in figure 18. With this system, it is easier to use renewable supply
and it also increases energy efficiency. District heating is mainly provided by the energy
utility group Utilitas, which constructed a new sustainable biomass power plant in Väo in
201626, as figure 19 shows. It will use Estonian wood chip and peat, for a total investment of
EUR 65 million. The municipality is counting on this power plant (along with Tallinn Power
Plant, the waste-to-energy unit of Iru thermal power plant and Mustamäe boiler house) to
achieve its policy of using more sustainable biomass and reduce the biomass energy price.
Priit Koit, Head of the Utilitas group27.
CONCLUSION
Tallinn is preparing its sustainable future, with key investments needed in public
transport, renovation and sustainable heating and cooling systems - key investment areas
that have been also identified by the EU Commission for Estonia. For now, Tallinn’s
investment needs require EUR 900 million towards 2050, but as Tallinn targets
26 Presentation in Estonian of the project here. 27 Quote from the Utilitas website.
Figure 18 illustration of the functioning of district heating systems by power solutions France
Figure 19 Picture of power plant in Väo from Utilitas' website
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innovative solutions for smart mobility and smart buildings, this might be an
underestimation. The municipality is aware of the challenges that await, and requires
significant and necessary investments to face them.
Free public transportation is a strong action to foster sustainable mobility, but it is
still difficult to make car users switch to public transportation.
Sustainable heating and cooling systems is a top priority for cities, as it allows for
significant energy savings and the potential for renewable energy is important.
2050 vision is a necessity; however, it also requires a concrete translation through a
detailed action plan.
Current estimation of the investment needs: EUR 900 million.
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Main findings
Thus, these five examples illustrate how cities are acting to limit climate change and
catalyse the clean energy transition, and what investments they would need to achieve the
objectives of the Paris Agreement. Even though Frederikshavn is the smallest city of our
case studies, its investment needs of EUR 1 billion are nearly equivalent to those of Ghent,
Tallinn and Seville by 2050, while Bordeaux-Métropole would need more (almost EUR 3
billion) due to the its larger population. These five cities have also shown that the energy
transition is a multi-sector issue, which needs to be included in all policies.
The estimation of these cities’ investment needs presented here remains theoretical,
but still shows that many cities are already planning their investments till 2050. Long-term
planning requires a clear direction and while cities are taking action to mobilize private and
public investments, it is clear that they will need critical support from the EU and its
Member States under the next ESIF program in order to meet all their investment needs for
their Paris-proof energy transition.
The Commission shares its recommendations for each EU Member State at the
beginning of the year, and in 2019, it has linked this exercise for the first time with the next
ESIF program (2021-2027). The EU Commission is aware of the necessity of the energy
transition, and recommends Member States to go further in supporting the renovation of
buildings, sustainable heating and cooling systems, renewable energy and sustainable
mobility – all key sectors in which European cities are taking action and want to go further.
The investment needs of the five cities presented here concur with the European
Commission’s investment recommendations for EU Member States, and therefore
constitute a call for action: by channeling the necessary investments under the next ESIF
program to support their cities, Member States will also be able to go further in their energy
transition and take action to comply with the Paris Agreement’s objectives. While the EU
Commission’s investment recommendations lack precise figures, the 5 city examples
analyzed here provide clear direction and guidance to Member States on where, when and
how funding and investments needs to be redirected to the local energy transition. This
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publication has provided a clear picture of the investments needed for the transition at local
level, for cities of different sizes, characteristics and socio-economic status: between EUR 1
million and EUR 3 billion until 2050 are necessary according to our estimations. The EU and
its Member States must now unlock enough funds to support cities’ energy transition under
the next ESIF program 2021-2027, and couple this investment with critical technical support
to cities so they are empowered to fully implement their ambitious actions.
Investment needs toward 2050 from the smallest to the largest city:
Main conclusions:
Collaboration public -
private and citizens
Investment needs: EUR 1 to 3 billion
Energy transition
entails multi-sector actions
Plan ambitious
goals for 2030 and 2050
Frederikshavn EUR 1 billion
Ghent EUR 750 million
Tallinn
EUR 900 million
Sevilla
EUR 1 billion
Bordeaux
EUR 2.7 billion
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Sources
CITIES’ CLIMATE PLANS
- “Plan d’action pour un territoire durable à haute qualité de vie”, Bordeaux-Métropole,
France
- “Master plan for Renewable Energy 2030”, City of Frederikshavn, Denmark
- “Ghent Climate Plan 2014-2019”, City of Ghent, Belgium
- “Plan de Acción por el Clima y la Energía Sostenibles (PACES)”, City of Seville, Spain, 2016
- “Development plan for the environmental protection of Tallinn 2013-2018”, City of Tallinn,
Estonia, 2013
REPORTS
- “Infographics: Costs of inaction on climate change in Europe”, CAN, 2018
- “Energy Efficiency, Getting real: from EU law to action on the ground”, The Coalition for
Energy Savings, 2018
- “A Clean Planet for all, A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern,
competitive and climate neutral economy”, The European Commission, 2018
- “Renewable Energy Prospects for the European Union”, the European Commission & IRENA,
2018
- “State aid: Scoreboard shows continued trend towards less and better targeted aid despite
crisis-related spike”, the European Commission, 2010
- “Models of Local Energy Ownership and the Role of Local Energy Communities in Energy
Transition in Europe”, the European Committee of the Regions, 2018
50
- “The involvement of the local and regional authorities in European Semester 2018”, the
European Committee of the Regions, 2018
- “Sustainable energy investment in European local authorities”, Report based on a survey,
the Covenant of Mayors Office, 2016
- “Energy Efficiency – the first fuel for the EU Economy. How to drive new finance for energy
efficiency investments”, The Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group, 2015
- “Building renovation in Europe - what are the choices?”, Ecofys, 2012
- “The Danish model - Danish experience with sustainable and low carbon urban
development”, the city of Frederikshavn
- “Energy Efficiency 2017”, the International Energy Agency, 2017
- “Perspectives for the energy transition - Investment Needs for a Low-Carbon Energy
System”, IRENA & IEA, 2017.
- “Climate adaption in local governance: institutional barriers in Danish municipalities”,
Anne Jensen, Helle Ørsted Nielsen and Maria Lilleøre Nielsen, Scientific Report from DCE
– Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, 2016
- “Perspectives for the Energy Transition; Investment Needs for a Low-Carbon Energy
System”, OECD/IEA and IRENA, 2017
- “How to decarbonise the European transport by 2050”, Transport and Environment, 2018
- « Le défi climatique des villes », WWF, 2018
NEWS ARTICLES
- Expansión.com/EP, “Ribera defiende ante los inversores que la transición energética
movilizará más de 200.000 millones hasta 2030” published on Expansion, 15/01/2019
- Evelyne Deceur and Jelle Monstrey, “Ghent: Citizens’ Budget: co-creation in practice”,
Eurocities website.
51
- Alex Gray, “Estonia is making public transport free” published on the World Economic
Forum website, 01/06/2018
- Anne Lenormand avec AFP et AEF, “PLF 2018 - Transition écologique : un budget en hausse
mais recentré sur les priorités du Plan climat” published on Banque des Territoires,
28/09/2017.
- R. Marqués, J.A. García-Cebrían and M. Calvo-Salazar, “Seville: How a small Spanish city
became a cycling hub for all” published on Euronews, 12/10/2018
- Maeve Shearlaw “The Tallinn experiment: what happens when a city makes public
transport free?” published on The Guardian, 11/10/2016
- Peter Walker, “How Seville transformed itself into the cycling capital of southern Europe”
published on The Guardian, 28/01/2015
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Authored by Rosalie Lédée
Reviewed by David Donnerer and Adrian Hiel
April 2019
ISBN: 978-2-490384-10-5